Feast of the Seven (Tinned) Fishes: Part II
A tinned fish Q&A, plus four more recipes.
As promised, here is today’s second installation of the Feast of the Seven (Tinned) Fishes. I’ve got four more recipes lined up; one is free and the other three can be unlocked with a subscription. Now is also a good time to get a subscription! Until December 31st, all subscription plans are 24% off:
Tinned fish are a controversial ingredient. They’re a food trend. They’re gross. They’re great! They’re gentrifying poor people’s food. They’re cat food. They are a buzzword amongst the Zillenial white-collar laptop class who also indulge in skin contact wine, Graza olive oil, and words like “gorpcore.” They’re a signal for this. They’re scary.
All of these statements are true.
Tinned fish also garner a lot more questions than answers. I’ve tallied up the frequently asked questions about my tinned fish consumption to answer in this master-post of a tinned fish Q&A. If you have any other questions, DM me on my Instagram @heardchefyeschef or send me an email at audreymorganlee@gmail.com.
Q: Where do you buy tinned fish?
A: Three places: grocery stores, specialty food stores, online. I pick up a normal routine of canned tuna and salmon, anchovies, and inexpensive sardines at Whole Foods. Trader Joe’s has a great selection of tinned fish at great prices. In Philadelphia, I frequent Herman’s Coffee, Riverward’s Produce, and Essene Market for more luxurious tins: octopus, cod, trout, clams, mussels, nicer sardines, and so on. These stores stock a variety of sustainably sourced, high-quality tins. I dream of one day visiting Rainbow Tomatoes Garden in Denver, PA, which stocks the world’s largest tinned fish selection; they can also be shopped online.
Q: What do you look for when you buy tinned fish?
A: Packed in oil. No matter the fish, get it in oil and not water. Oil improves the fish texture, is a better preservative, has much better flavor, and is generally healthier. It’s usually a couple of cents more per tin to get oil. Get oil.
Other details I look for include any flavoring additions (piri piri, lemon, basil, and herbs are popular additions) so I can plan what I want to do with the tin.
Q: Why are tinned fish expensive?
A: Tinned fish do not have to be expensive. At all. The explosion in popularity of gourmet tins in beautiful packaging will have you think otherwise. You can get tinned fish for a few dollars at your supermarket and you will be fine. It’s better to do this to decide if you like tinned fish before spending $10 on a tin of sardines in Thai basil and grapeseed oil with packaging equivalent to that of a vintage carton of cigarettes.
More expensive tins of fish tend to be from small, family fisheries that use sustainable practices to acquire their fish, or from brands that purchase from these fisheries. The fish may be rarer. It may also be packed with higher-quality oil.
Supermarket tinned fish may not be of the same quality or sustainability but you can use it in the same ways you would use a gourmet tin. Just get it packed in oil. Generally, I’ll stay on the cheaper end for tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel, and anchovies. I think mussels, squid, trout, cod, etc. are better to purchase in smaller quantities of nicer tins.
Q: What tinned fish brands do you recommend?
A: My favorite brands are (in order, kind of):
Ati Manel — delicious, great selection, reasonably priced
Conservas de Cambados — some of the best mussels and octopus around
Nuri — beautiful flavor combinations
Bela — best grocery store option
Conservas Ortiz — great tuna and anchovies
José Gourmet — for a nice occasion with a great selection
Les Mouettes d’Arvor — some of the best quality sardines. Try the vintage.
Patagonia Provisions — readily available and fun flavor combinations
Wild Planet — grocery store mainstay. Good oil.
Pole & Line — great tuna
Cento — for anchovies
King Oscar — widely available cheap option
Q: What tinned fish brands do you not recommend?
A: Controversial question!
Fishwife. You’ve probably seen Fishwife’s gorgeous packaging take Instagram by storm. They have a bold social media presence with high-profile collaborations and an equally high price tag. In my experience, I have not loved Fishwife’s products. The oil tends to be thin and their selection is small. For what you get, they are incredibly overpriced. The packaging is great, sure — but we are eating fish, not cardboard, no?
Sunkist and Chicken of the Sea. I think we’ve all had enough of your mother’s favorite doomsday-planning cans of tuna. These tend to be higher in mercury and the taste just isn’t great.
Anything packed in water. We’ve been over this.
Q: What other resources are good for tinned fish exploration?
A: Mouth Full of Sardines has been reviewing hundreds of tins since 2011 and is steadily chugging (chewing) away with a standardized review format on Blogspot. Molly Moss does detailed ratings and tinned fish recipes on her Instagram reels. Mei is a great resource for discovering new tins to try but does do a lot of sponsored reviews. r/CannedSardines is the premiere tinned fish subreddit.
Q: What are ways to eat tinned fish without a recipe, or just plain from the can?
A: The world is your tin of fish:
On toast with olive oil or unsalted butter.
Mashed and smeared onto potato chips.
In broth and soups.
On pizza or a sandwich.
Mashed and in salads, akin to a tuna salad.
Added to pasta.
Over deviled eggs.
Like a crudo with olive oil, citrus, and herbs.
Combined with hot sauce.
With creamy cheeses on bread or crackers.
With pickled vegetables, kimchi, capers, giardiniera, or another pickled/fermented vegetable.
Mixed with diced tomato, onion, garlic, jalapeños, and citrus juices — basically, make a ceviche.
Hot white rice, an egg cracked and mixed in, with the oil from the tin and a little soy sauce.
With rice cakes.
Q: Have you gotten mercury poisoning?
A: Probably, but this was from a freak depressive episode. Don’t eat tinned fish and nothing but tinned fish for more than a few days.
Without further ado, some uses for all of these tinned fishes we’ve discussed:
Tonno E Ceci on Sourdough
This recipe works best in the summer months. It’s tuna salad that is too good for mayonnaise.
Serves 1. Ingredients:
1 can of tuna
A few leaves of lemon basil (or regular basil)
½ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 tsp dried oregano
½ red onion, thinly sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 slice sourdough, toasted
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt, black pepper
Add tuna with its oil and lemon basil to a bowl with salt, pepper, oregano, vinegar, and olive oil. Stir and set aside.
Slice the cherry tomatoes and red onion.
Mix in with the tuna; add lemon juice, and spread onto sourdough.